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MEMBER DIARY

The GOP establishment just doesn’t care anymore

Several key moves by the “leadership” of the Republican Party over the past few weeks have made one thing abundantly clear; even to the casual observer, they just don’t care anymore about the issues important to the Conservative base of the party. They are just going to bide their time, raise their money, and try to buy their re-elections in November.

It began with the on-again/off-again immigration reform legislation. While on their recent retreat—which for Republicans means both an opportunity to get away as well as a leadership strategy—their plans to force Paul Ryan’s amnesty bill for illegal aliens was leaked to the public. Needless to say, it was not very well received by Conservatives.

By the way, when you take his immigration proposal, along with his caving on sequestration in the budget deal he co-authored with Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)—a deal which is already considered in shambles—I think we can safely conclude that Rep. Ryan (R-ino WI) should be removed from any consideration as a committed Conservative. He is, after all, a member of the G.O.P. Hall of Shame.

But back to the immigration bill. Boehner was willing to let it go to a vote in the House. But in a move meant to appear like he was listening to his constituents, Boehner pulled the rug out on the immigration bill vote without notice. In reality, based on past performances, this is more than likely a brief time-out meant to give Boehner the breathing room he needs to hammer out the details with Obama and the Democrats.

Conservatives would support real immigration reform, while Boehner and Co. want whatever helps them protect their job. So, instead of doing the hard work and forging a compromise, he cops out and blames Obama. Meanwhile, the Democrats and the media get to spin it as the fault of the “right-wing extremists” in the Republican party, which doesn’t bother Boehner at all, since he has also blamed them for his lack of leadership on past issues.

This week, Boehner, with the help of Mitch McConnell in the Senate, capitulated on raising the debt ceiling, giving Obama UNLIMITED deficit spending capabilities for the next 13 months without any requirements to reduce spending. In what has become a classic, but cowardly move by Boehner, he sped it through the floor process and approved the rule governing proceedings by voice vote. Conveniently, this doesn’t require individual members to be on record with their vote to proceed, while still allowing his RINO buddies to oppose the bill while voting for it when they are on the record. The Republicans who provided the necessary votes to pass this travesty can be found here and here.

Even though Boehner ran on a promise to do several things to reduce deficit spending, including defunding Obamacare, this move on the debt ceiling is proof that he no longer cares about honoring the Conservative principles he claimed to possess. This vote is simply using the classic “kick the can down the road” approach to governance that serves to do nothing more than ignore the problem until after the next election.

The GOP used to be the Conservative party. They favored smaller government, lower taxes, less spending, and balanced budgets. They were pro-life and pro-family—something that some GOP leaders have been calling on the party to pull back on. But it is becoming more and more clear that the GOP is more concerned about protecting the position and power in Washington than they are about doing what’s best for the country.